Change
by alanacrystal
Summary: Kai reflects on the events of the past years and how he has changed over time. A certain brunette has affected him far more than anybody else. KaiHil.


**Change**

Kai lay in the cool green grass of a gently rolling hill. His muscular arms were tucked behind his head, violet eyes closed lazily against the sun's blissful warm rays. Only a slight breeze disturbed the silent tranquillity, rustling the sea of grass and making it undulate like waves, whispering through Kai's silver hair and swaying the blade of long grass protruding from the Russian's mouth. The light scent of flowers filled his senses. The buzzing of bees pollinating the spring blooms and the dulcet singing of the birds reached his ears.

His eyes opened to stare up at the sky, a vast, endless expanse of brilliant sapphire-blue. He let his mind wander.

Change. How could such a simple word have so many complicated meanings? He had come a long way since he had moved to Japan with his grandfather and been with his team the Blade Sharks. How and why this thought had occurred to him he did not know but deep in his heart he had always known it, although he had never admitted it to himself or anyone else.

He had changed. His team the Bladebreakers - formerly the G-revolutions - had been the main contributors to his transformation. He had learned the meaning of friendship and teamwork from them and each member had helped shape the person he was now. Tyson, his ultimate rival, challenged him to be his best and it was because of this that he had become such a powerful Beyblader. Max had taught him about patience and strategy through his defensive style of play and happy-go-lucky attitude to life. Ray had helped him to see things from different points of view and thanks to Kenny he had learned things about Beyblades he had never thought possible. Daichi had taught him about consideration and having fun.

Hilary. The last name froze in his mind. He had suddenly comprehended that of all the people who had changed him, she might have had the largest role. The grass in his mouth moved a little as he played with it absently, closing his eyes again.

To him, a girl was a girl. No more, no less. Yet Hilary was different somehow; not due to the fact she was not a Blader but because of her nature. She did not try to pick fights with him like Mariam, Queen or Julia; she did not annoy him with overly peppy and bubbly chatter like Mariah and Mathilda nor treat him as if he was fragile like Salima. She merely took Kai for who he was and had never done anything to anger or upset him…but what she had made him do was think. She was still having that effect on him now even though she was not with him.

At first, he had thought she was like any other girl - a nuisance and not worth his time - shown blatantly when she had introduced herself to him and he had walked straight past her without a word. A shaky start to their friendship, which was worsened when she had decided he was not trustworthy and designated him a spy working for the stalkers that had kidnapped her and Kenny.

This all changed when the new MG core upgraded the team's Beyblades. He and the others tried everything to control the new power it brought but nothing had worked until Hilary had created a training schedule to help them. The schedule had consisted of basic techniques for them to master which everyone agreed were feasible except Tyson, who was outraged that the World Champions needed to learn such simple things and declared that it was a waste of time. A fierce argument ensued between him and Hilary and the schedule had ended up torn in half. Hilary had taken off, hurt by Tyson's cruel words.

The feeling that the navy-haired teen had gone too far had been mutual.

"_That was harsh, dude," Ray remarked._

_"Yeah, Ty - she sounded like she was really hurt," concurred Max. _

_Kai watched as Tyson huffed a snide retort along the lines of "she'll get over it," callously tossing his half of the training schedule over his shoulder and stalking off. _

Hilary had only been trying to help and Tyson had thrown it back in her face. None of them had expected him to be so nasty to her even though she had not exactly received a warm welcome from him or Kai himself.

Kai had remained deep in thought on this that night whilst Tyson vented his frustration on the little progress they had made during the day with the MG core.

_After failing to block out the navy-haired teen's moans, he stepped outside for some air and peace with which to gather his thoughts. _This is getting us nowhere. We need a new plan.

_Something shining a luminous white in the moonlight caught his eye. Hilary's half of the training schedule drifted across the ground toward him. It was like she was asking for his help through this omen, knowing that he would understand and was the only one who could get through to Tyson. Kai bent down, picked it up. Now was his chance to prove him wrong. Maybe they needed Hilary after all._

He had woken his team-mates at the crack of dawn the next morning with a loud battle cry as he launched Dranzer, sending them rushing outside to see what the commotion was about. He had taken pleasure in seeing Tyson's confusion at his actions, the perplexity at how he used the MG core so effortlessly. The stupid teens had not been able to work out the reason for his excellent control over Dranzer until he had shown them Hilary's half of the training schedule. "I went back to basics," had been his explanation.

Though his face had remained calm, only a smirk of satisfaction had showed he was laughing inside at what fools they were. Through Hilary, he had taught Tyson a lesson and found a way to help the team out of their predicament. In doing so, he realised, he had accepted her as part of the Bladebreakers.

From that moment on, their friendship smoothed out. Hilary no longer perceived him as suspicious or treacherous and he saw her as a valuable member of the team as it had been time for a change; the Bladebreakers needed new blood and a different perspective on things and she had provided this since she was not a Blader as well as a female touch to the male views of the members.

This had come into play on Doctor B's island when they had split up to find help. The devious scientist had tried to crush Kenny and Hilary by causing a rockslide but he had shielded them from the falling rocks, risking his life in the process. However, he had protected Hilary with more of his body than he had done with the Chief.

What had driven him to do that? he wondered. Surely he would have protected Kenny more because he had known him longer. Then it struck him. The Chief had been in situations like this before and would have been able to handle the experience better than Hilary, who had never stared disaster in the face until that point. That was why he had asked her if she was okay. He had been concerned about her. The first time he had cared about a girl.

After that, Hilary had returned the favour. She looked out for him when he trained, told him to take a break even when he refused, remained at his side. Her anxiety when he had fought Gouki, distraught and guilty after what had happened to Wyatt, had shown she cared about him as much as he did about her. He had protected her twice after that; shielding her from Cyber Dragoon's energy waves and being the first to grab her hand when she had fallen from a cliff whilst Ray had battled a Bit Beast named Kraken.

The depth of their friendship had been revealed after Kai had lost Dranzer to Zeo in the World Championships. He had left the dojo to be alone, consumed with guilt and resolved to quit the team, even considering himself unworthy to Beyblade anymore. Then Hilary had appeared, the worry on her face dissolving to relief as she called out his name. He had given her the briefest of glances before gazing back out to sea.

_She stood beside him. "Are you okay?" _

_When there was no answer she reassured him, "Hey, don't worry. The others will get Dranzer back for you."_

_Kai closed his eyes and walked away from her; he did not need false hope from anyone. He had made his decision and no one was going to change it. Not even her. Dranzer was gone. That was all there was to it. He had accepted this and it was time to move on. _

_"Leave me alone. I've decided to quit Beyblading for good today."_

_"You quit?" she spluttered indignantly. "But…wait a minute!"_

_To his own amazement, he did as she asked. _

_"Hey, you can't quit! I'm sorry that you lost your match but the Bladebreakers are still in the competition and they need your support. It would be selfish of you to walk away just because you're feeling down!" she continued sternly. "Max and Ray are training really hard right now to get Dranzer back for you. How do you think _they'll _feel?" _

_No response. _

_"Kai, it's not like you to give up. Remember how hard you battled when Driger was taken from Ray?" _

_Unbeknown to her, Kai was taken aback. She was right. _

_"Kai…" her voice had taken on a pleading note, begging him to answer her. _

_There was a pause. Kai considered replying but decided against it, choosing to brush her off through actions instead. He walked away._

_"Huh." Hilary huffed with exasperation. "I never knew you were such a cold-hearted person. Go on then but remember the Bladebreakers aren't a team if you're not there when they need you the most!"_

_With that, she turned on her heel and stalked off._

_Her words stirred something within Kai. It angered and hurt him to think she viewed him as uncaring about the team. It brought back memories of when he had betrayed them in Russia the previous year, of this year when he failed to protect Wyatt and Dranzer all because of his selfish ambitions. He walked to the Stadium with renewed resolution. It was time to whip Tyson back into shape._

If it had not been for Hilary stopping him from leaving and giving up Beyblading for good, he would not have seen his team become World Champions for the second time, let alone be a Beyblader anymore.

This year, it had been evident she cared for him on a much deeper level than before. She was worried for him when he battled Daichi, stayed close to him after the match as if she had known something was wrong, which there had been. Ray and Max's absence from the team had confused, angered and hurt him and his lack of action in the battle reflected these inner feelings.

He had questioned where his loyalties lay. He had always wanted to defeat Tyson yet deep down he knew he wanted to stay friends with him too. Words would not convince the navy-haired teen that he was not betraying him. He had resorted using actions and left unnoticed lest Hilary talked him out of it as she had done last year. Kai hoped she realised he intended to return once he had beaten Tyson.

Things did not go as planned. Tyson only just managed to defeat him and this only made Kai even more determined to battle him again so he seized the chance when BEGA took over the BBA and the preliminaries began for the Justice Five Tournament. He had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Brooklyn and returned to the team at last in the hopes of defeating BEGA's star Blader.

Hilary had been overjoyed at his long-awaited return. According to his team-mates, she had never stopped talking about him since he had left the Bladebreakers before the World Championships. She had missed him considerably. The fact that she had talked of no one else but him showed how close she was to him and Kai felt proud of her for keeping faith in him when no one else had. She even expressed for the first time how concerned she was for him in words when he battled Brooklyn again instead of just showing it on her face. _"Uh, I'm real worried about Kai. Do you guys think he's alright?"_

When she and the team had cheered him on, Kai had been surprised and pleased. Even though things looked bad, they still believed in him and that had given him the determination to inspire them as well as to win. He did both. Thanks to this, Tyson won against Garland and the tide turned in their favour as they drew with the BEGA bladers.

BEGA had one more ace up its sleeve. An insane and enraged Brooklyn, thirsty for revenge after being defeated for the first time ever in Beyblading by Kai. Tyson struggled against him but when Kai gave him the courage to go all-out, he began to gain the upper hand. Kai and the other team members called on their Bit Beasts to merge with Dragoon, knowing that it would take teamwork to take BEGA down once and for all. He had known Dranzer was with him the moment he had given Tyson a confidence boost; she had been reborn from the ashes and her presence would linger until she returned to a new Beyblade but she appeared and combined with Tyson's Bit Beast anyway.

Tyson and Brooklyn's battle ended in a draw. Months passed and Bay City had been restored from the extreme, climatic Beybattle. BEGA was no more. Boris was ruined and had been arrested on charges that gave him a life sentence in prison. Everyone, especially the Blitzkrieg Boys and Kai himself, were finally free of him. Kenny had constructed a new blade for Dranzer and he had faced Tyson ready to start the battle they had promised one another. Seeing Hilary's excited face amongst the crowd told him any pain he had caused her in his absence had been allayed.

The moment he and Tyson launched their blades, he had promised silently that he would never leave the team again now that he knew Tyson would battle him anytime and Hilary was so devoted to their friendship. Their battle had been a tie but it was enough for him.

"Kai."

He opened his eyes.

Ruby eyes gazed down at him. "There you are."

"Hn." Kai smirked, standing up and taking the grass out of his mouth. Trust her to go looking for him.

Hilary smiled back. "It's such a nice day. Perfect for watching the world go by, eh?"

They strolled to the park in companionable silence, content to enjoy each other's presence.

"Um…Kai?" Hilary broke the quietness a short while later.

"Hm?" he murmured.

"Uh…there's something I want to tell you," she stated, her normally kind and outgoing demeanour nervous. Her ruby eyes were filled with mixed emotions.

Kai frowned slightly. "Something wrong?"

"No." She shook her head. She stopped walking and turned to him.

Kai stopped too, facing her. Something was up. She was not usually like this around him. It was strange.

Hilary averted her eyes from his violet ones. She seemed embarrassed. "I…never got to say how grateful I am for all the times you saved me last year and accepting me into your team, so…thank you. Thank you for everything. I wouldn't be here without you."

Kai nodded. "No problem."

He was inwardly surprised she was so indebted to him but felt a rush of pride and happiness all the same. He was compelled to return the favour so he did.

"Thank you for believing in me."

"You're…_thanking me_?" Hilary could not believe her ears.

"Uh-huh."

She smiled warmly at him. "You're welcome."

He raised a silver eyebrow as she cleared ther throat and inhaled deeply, as if steeling herself. Her gaze was fixed on his.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you," she began.

There was a short pause. Her eyes fell to the floor. She scuffed at the ground with her orange trainers. She had lost her nerve.

"Look at me, Hilary."

The brunette forced herself to look him in the eye. "I…I…"

To his dismay, her ruby eyes filled with tears. Her lithe, slender frame shook with suppressed sobs.

Now Kai was concerned. "What's wrong?"

Hilary threw herself against his chest, clung to his dark-purple shirt. "When you left the team, I missed you so much!"

Kai was taken aback. She really did care about him more deeply than before.

"I'm here now."

"I know…but I need you to promise me that you'll never leave the Bladebreakers again," she replied, raising a tear-streaked face to gaze at him intently. "We need our team captain to guide us down the right path or we'll be led astray - just as we were before you returned. Tyson was driving us like a pack of sled dogs and wouldn't listen to me when I said we needed a break to think things through. That's why you need to stay. You're a much better captain than he'll ever be."

Hilary wiped the tears from her eyes and face, staring at his scarf and not meeting his eyes. "The other reason I want you to stay is because when you were gone, I…I realised that…" She flushed. "I liked you as more than just a friend…"

Kai's eyes widened slightly. _It can't be…she…_

"I love you, Kai…" her whisper was almost inaudible.

Her words set his mind and heart racing. The way she stayed close to him, worried about him, had talked and thought of no one but him when he had been gone; her joy at seeing him again after so long. The signs had been there. He had never noticed them. Until now. It all made sense.

Hilary quickly disengaged her grip from him like she had been burnt, straightening herself and squaring her shoulders. She turned away from him, embarrassed and ashamed.

"I…I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have said that to you."

The brunette began to walk away. Kai grabbed her wrist. She struggled against him but his grasp remained firm.

"Let me go!"

"I _won't_."

The conviction in his voice seemed to stun her into submission. She froze. He turned her around so she faced him. Her gaze remained on the ground though, her face burning.

"You're wrong. What you said to me is true."

Hilary's head snapped upward in disbelief. Her wide ruby eyes met his violet pools. "But - "

He shook his head. "No, Hilary. You're right about the team being lost without me…so I'll be the captain again and I promise never to leave the Bladebreakers."

It was the least he could after all they had done for him. It was time he returned the favour; the team was like the family he had never had. They had always been by his side and forgiven him when he had left or betrayed them. He had promised them silently the day he and Tyson had battled a month after BEGA's defeat that he would stay with them always and would never betray them again; he would keep his word forever.

Hilary's shock dissolved into relief. "Thank you."

Kai extended his hand to her. _This is my response to your confession. _

She stared at it in bewilderment. "Why are you…?"

The realisation dawned on her, her face broke into a beaming smile. She took the offered hand, their fingers entwining.

They walked hand in hand out of the park and headed back to the dojo. Kai smiled faintly. He had changed, but for the better. All because of Hilary.


End file.
